Josh watched as the two remaining looters scatter like roaches seeing that they both attempted to hide behind the rusted automobiles in the streets. Besides the fact that this faction was downright disorganized, it wasn't so farfetched, but it was almost downright laughable for anyone to make the presumption that a teenager could take out two adults on their own without any kind of support from a party of allies.
Taking cover for his safety, Josh often peeked out to see the gunshots raining down from the upstairs windows. If there was something Josh could commend his mother for was her accuracy with scope firearms—she was missing her targets by mere inches, shattering car windows or ricocheting from the pavements beside them.
"THIS IS CRAZ-AGH!" the darker-skinned man yelped just as a bullet exited through the back of his neck.
His body jerked backward and before his comrade knew it, his friend was already covered in his own blood and remains. The first looter looked at his partner in complete shock and took a moment or two to recall the kind of dire situation he was in. He trembled, calling out to his friend more than once. When he received no response from his associate, he hid further behind the vehicle until he could no longer be seen.
Pam, on the other hand, was keeping her crosshairs situated. She four bullets to spare and she wasn't going to get all trigger happy for one worthless threat. She made sure that she would've followed him with every move that he made. Strangely, the looter hadn't moved a muscle and despite being on different levels of the house, both Josh and Pam couldn't help but wonder why. Did he move without them noticing? Was he wounded? Bracing himself for just about anything, he quickly took out his handgun from his back pocket and made sure it was loaded with bullets before anything else. He didn't take it upon himself to count them but, instead, recalled last counting five bullets. Making the right call, he shoved the magazine back into the grip as soon as he heard more gunshots and held his gun close to his chest.
Unbeknownst to him, the looter made a full, lucky sprint towards the house while taking a few shots at the upstairs window which undoubtedly caused Pam to lower her offense and take cover in the process. The looter let out a shout as his arm was grazed in the process but he already made up his mind that it wasn't going to be enough to stop him. He intended to make the family pay. He screamed and roared, charging towards the house with all his might until he finally made it out of the view of Pam's scope. She cursed to herself and slapped her thigh in frustration,
"I LOST HIM!" She shouted from the top of the stairs as a forewarning.
The front entrance was too boarded up for it to be an option but there were certainly others. He was heard making his way through the thin path that led around to the backyard, brushing through tall grass and climbing over the top of Pam's car.
Still holed up inside of her bedroom, Erlina was in a location where she could look directly into the path in which the perpetrator was in. Her window, as well as any other, was safely barricaded for her safety. When the looter made it completely out of sight, Erlina's eyes widened just as she remembered something crucial—the backdoor. other than the upstairs window in which both kids climbed in through, the backdoor wasn't usually blocked off because they were intended to be used as easier access points. The backdoor was capable of being locked but it was something that could easily be kicked off with enough rage.
"Josh!" Erlina whispered sharply. When she realized he didn't answer due to being too focused on the man's whereabouts, she called out his name but a little louder, "Josh!" Enraged, Josh turned his attention to her with flared wings to a tall nose. More than aware that the furiousness was rightfully present she informed him either way before doing something she'd regret, "He going to the backdoor!" she expressed with a worried look on her face.
That's when Josh heard a gunshot coming from the upstairs—presumably Pam trying to get the intruder from a different angle. Josh quickly sprang to his feet and bolted, first making it past the kitchen and making it into the dining room. Erlina cowardly edged herself to the doorway but reeled herself back inside for her own safety.
Just as Josh entered the dining room, he made a sharp left that led into an old office with the backdoor. Temporarily frozen at the sight of the doorknob being severely rattled, Josh
"I'LL SHOOT!" Josh shouted, slightly turning his ear to the door. Incredibly, the knob stopped moving, "You don't have to do this!"
Just then, a moment of ominous silence took Josh by surprise. As much as people could argue that silence was a good thing, sudden silence wasn't. That's when Josh's eyes widened from the sound of a familiar clink. The teen frog leaped to the side just as the door was blown off its hinges and scattered fragments of wood to the floor and against the walls. The man charged in and spotted his teen retreating, back from whence he came, with his tail between his legs. Even though he was nearly out of sight, the trespasser decisively fired his shotgun anyway, hearing a high-pitched whine in the process.
Josh collapsed to the ground and yelped while holding his lower leg in pain and struggled to move as quickly as he previously did. Quickly reaching down, he pulled up the hem of his pants and saw a good piece of torn flesh that indicated if he were hit any closer, his leg could've possibly been shattered. Looking up at the wall, he small tiny bullet holes that indicated a buckshot. As time passed, the pain grew immense and he even found it too painful to stand. He was groaning in pain and he began crawling away from the looter after hearing his footsteps cautiously approach him.
Quickly reaching for his glock that happened to fall out of his grasp the moment he fell to the ground, he quickly grabbed his handgun and aimed it at the armed stranger, who was now standing over him. Josh had now gotten a good look at him up close—he had a brown beard and a full head of chestnut hair that was receding at the hairline. Using the stock of his gun, he knocked Josh's hand away with as much force as possible, causing the glock to fly back to a set of stairs. Before he could even move to fetch after it, the man utilized the stock of his gun once again and struck the teen in the side of his face. The hit was so powerful it partially stunned him, causing a bloody nose and stinging face. Shortly after, Josh could feel blood running down the side of his face. He groaned in even more in pain and looked up at the looter, seeing five of the same man hovering over him. Slowly, Josh turned over and tried crawling to his gun once again, but the opponent made it clear that he wasn't getting away.
He straddled over the teen boy's body and authoritatively drove his knee into his prey's back, having a massive contrast between both of their builds. He took the barrel of his shotgun and guided it over Josh's head until it was wedged underneath his neck. Forcefully, he tried to choke him out by crushing the barrel against his throat. At this point, Josh was gasping for air, failing to pry the gun off by overpowering his brooding antagonist. He kicked his legs around wildly, not even being able to let out a single cough.
"NO!" Erlina shrieked out of the blue, standing by the set of stairs.
The man looked over at her, noticing that she currently had the handgun in her trembling hands. However, her obvious struggle wasn't unnerving to him one bit. He could tell by the simple look in her eyes that she didn't have it in her to kill in cold blood. He turned his attention back to Josh and continued to strangle him, leaving Erlina to sulk and sob in her doubt while she practically pleaded for him to stop.
Nearly abruptly, the intruder heard a random shout of surprise followed by a sharp pain in his shoulder. Instinctively, his hold on his shotgun slackened and he looked over his shoulder to see a cleaver being pulled clean from it. He let out a massive howl of pain and held his shoulder as blood expelled from his sliced open arteries.
Now free to crawl and linger away Josh let out aggressive coughs while Erlina quickly ran to his side and helped sit him up against a wall furthest from his pursuer. Using the wall as support, Josh fought himself to his feet and retrieved the handgun from his cousin. They both watched as their superhero of a mother dragged the intruder by the hair to the cupboards in the kitchen. Without skipping a beat, she then hacked at both of his legs a few times when she began to realize he could try and stand. Again, he let out guttural yells that soon transitioned into whimpers when he realized that his legs were still intact but not by bone. Unable to put his sinful pride aside, he tried to use his good arm to sway a smack at the cleaver-wielding mother, but he missed. Stepped over him, she stepped back—unable to remove her eyes from him.
Passing through the second entrance that was further towards the back of the kitchen, Josh was limping with the meager assistance of his tiny cousin. The sight of seeing someone sit in their blood was always a difficult one, but they all understood that they didn't take it to this level. Soon afterward, Josh warded off the guidance of his cousin and incoming worry from his mother.
The stranger's face was flushed pink and was fused with swear and tears. At this point, his entire demeanor changed and he knew he was going to die by the hand of a stupid, unlikely party—seeing three scornful faces.
Erlina didn't like it and if it were up to her, she'd let the man free. But she knew that it was something that could end up getting her killed. Looking up to see if there was any remorse on her relative's faces, she couldn't find a trace of it. That's when he took the opportunity to say his piece, possibly realizing he wouldn't get this chance again.
"Yo-you killed my friends," he whimpered between breaths. Josh lifted the one arm partially hidden behind his back and leveled the handgun to the intruder's eyes. At this point, the man had grown so weak, it was like he was withdrawing from this plane of existence in front of their very eyes, "Do you know what you've done...?" he barely lifted his only functional arm and pointed in their direction, "You've killed three men who promised their families they'd come back home to them," he bitterly admitted, hoping to instill a sense of guilt that would haunt them forever.
Just as the stranger had hoped, it did the job at letting Josh tense up at those words. It took him such a long moment to process it and he wondered if there was any other way they all could've gone about this even though these men were the agitators. To Pam, her family came first and if she knew that her son didn't have the courage to pull the trigger she wouldn't force him to. Instead, she looked at her son when he unexpectedly exchanged gazes with her almost like he was looking to her for the answers. Erlina, on the other hand, could only think about what it would be like for the kids to lose a father just like she did,
"I'm sorry..." Josh mumbled.
Closing his eyes and turning away, Josh straightened his limpening arm and shot the trespasser square in the mug. Erlina shrieked and turned away after seeing the stranger's blood splatter on the walls. His body fell weak almost like it deflated, and the tilting of his head left a bloody streak on the wall. Normally, a mother would question her son's intentions...but was in a difficult position since it had to do with their safety. Noticing that his body was still tense, she calmly took the handgun from him—careful not to alarm him.
"Ouch..." Josh winced, nearly jerking his leg away from his mother. He laid prone on the sofa with his legs resting on his mother's lap, giving her the chance to examine the two prominent grazes on his upper calf. And even though Pam tried to keep her composure, she was suffering internally on how death essentially kissed her son. Her breath trembled, unable to remove her eyes from it. Of course, it wasn't hard to tell when his mother had a lot going on in her mind, so he looked over at her, "What is it?"
"Nothing..." Pam partially lied. She shook her head, trying to avoid passing on her worry to her son by not seeming too struck with agony, "It's just...we don't have any of the proper tools for it at this moment," she sugar-coated. Her eyes lingered back to his leg as she used the finishing roll of toilet paper to pat away the heavy blood that continuously oozed from his lacerated flesh. She could've added that he could get an infection that could lead to death but she thought it'd be best for her very own sanity to avoid thinking like that.
Erlina was silently in her bedroom, eavesdropping. After hearing about their lack of medical supplies, it didn't take her long to conclude that nothing good ever comes from this sort of news—if not now it would certainly affect them later. Without making too much noise, she carefully shut the door and closed herself in her bedroom. Leaning on it momentarily, she threw herself back on her old mattress. She stared at the ceiling as tears began to conjure themselves in her eyes, running down the sides of her face as she tried to shut them from escaping. She began sniffling and placed her forearm to her face, biting her bottom lip and trying to smother her cries. Everything about today was too overwhelming since it had been years since they last ran into people so dangerous. Thoughts of her father infiltrated her mind because that's what the thought of losing someone close to her always led to. If she could run to the moon and back just to see her father one more time—guaranteed she would. Turning to her side, she inhaled and exhaled with a slight shakiness. She watched as her old, forsaken room was lit by a plain, unscented candle on the dresser, and the dimming night skies. Strangely, the angle in which the light was shining in through spaces of the barricades shined right onto her bow, quiver, and arrows in the corner of her room.
If she didn't know any better, a voice that wasn't her own began speaking to her. She back up and wiped her eyes. Besides the break-in, the events that took place at the gas station earlier today replayed in her head over and over again. Before she knew it, Erlina was throwing on her boots and grabbing her upmost important tools. While adjusting the bag onto her shoulder, she opened the door ajar at the right moment to see her aunt exiting the living room to go to another part of the house,
"Just lay down right there. I'll be right back..." she heard her aunt announce to her son before disappearing.
Without skipping a beat, she exited her bedroom and made her way to the nearest set of steps. Thanks to the godforsaken house, the old steps squeaked with every step a person made. Nervously, Erlina placed her fingers on to her mouth as soon as the first sound was heard,
"Erlina?" Josh reacted, obviously distant and drowsy.
"Hmm?" she answered quietly afraid to look over.
"What are you doing?"
As she became fully prepared to plead the fifth, she turned around to notice that he hadn't even moved a muscle. He remained in the prone position and had no way of telling that she was armed to the teeth,
"I-I think I left my flashlight upstairs..." she lied.
"Oh. Get it quickly..." he said, even sounding concerned in his sleep.
Nearly passing out from a thousand heartbeats per second, Erlina's nerves finally came to a calm. Continuing up to the second level, she took out her flashlight from her bag, mounting it in a small strap near her shoulder on her denim jacket. Despite being indoors, The summer-night drafts could still be felt through the exposed segments of rooftops due to years of unattended rotting. She made her way to the small room that she and Josh climbed through earlier that day and, overall, this was going to be the difficult part. Tossing a bunch of hair over one shoulder, she bent down and reached for the ladder. Lifting it only by a few inches she became suspended, picturing multiple scenarios of how this could play out—bumping wall to wall and making a racket all due to her lacking the proper strength to lift it on her own. Lowering the ladder back to the floor, Erlina sighed. Resting her dry palms along the windowsill, she was bombarded by insecure thoughts of how much of a fool she was to be taken here in the first place.
Startled by something that managed to catch her attention outside on the far right of the awning, she noticed a disgusting yet harmless rat. Examining its movements, the vermin did nothing but sniff around for a bit before it ran off the rooftop and landed a thick tree branch that extended from the massive tree in the yard.
Hitting Erlina like a ton of bricks, she examined the tree and could essentially feel that the tree was extending a helping hand. Without wasting time, she quickly opened the window and began shuffling her way over the awning. Although the surface was wide enough, she mimicked an acrobat on a wire. Once she reached the edge, she was given a chance to examine the wooden appendage up close. From what she could gather, it appeared to be thick and sturdy. Only going by a one-ounce rat, she wildly guessed that it could be strong enough to handle her weight. Returning to the window once more to leave it ajar until she returned, she turned away after she finished it. Taking a deep breath, she shook her hands as if she were discharging nerves and doubt from it and charged for more velocity to assist a better jump. Just as she leaped off the edge, she let out a heavy grunt as she roughly landed, only having her torso and arms nearly arched over it. The lower portion of her body and kicking her legs only made it far more difficult. Her upper body strength wasn't something she could depend on, so trying to pull herself up with raw strength was no use. Ultimately, she began losing her grip and fell unto multiple branches beneath her. They somewhat interfered with her descent, lessening the impact of her landing.
Her body managed to flip and tumble and she face-planted unto the tall crowds of weeds and grass. The fall hurt, of course, but not as much as she expected considering that her life flashed before her eyes. Either way, it still brought tears to her eyes and she softly whined like a pup as she fixed herself up, sitting in a crouched position and checking herself for scrapes and bruises. She extended her arm back and rubbed an ache as she fought off tears.
Careful not to linger too long on her minor injuries, she turned her attention to the house after hearing clattering tools being placed on a surface that could've been anything from a counter to the useless dinner table. Erlina immediately got up out of the weeds and picked up her speed to cower behind a stack of three old tires and the broken down picnic table. Erlina could hear the back door being swung open due to an infamous sound it made. Erlina watched in silence as a bright flashlight showered over numerous areas of the backyard. The best thing Erlina could do was stay in the shadows and avoid being spotted. After a couple of seconds of pure silence, her aunt returned to the house,
"Probably just the rats..." she could hear her aunt say before shutting the broken door.
Poking her head above the tires to make sure the coast was clear, she dashed through the backyard and climbed over the fence as quickly as she could. She was no match compared to her older and taller cousin, but she managed. She ran from the houses as they lingered just of couple yards behind her. Thankfully for her, it wasn't that far of a trip. Walking across the street, she climbed up a sloped parking lot drive-in and stood in the center of an empty parking lot. She looked up at the building that stood in front of her and read the large, dusty sign on the side of it,
"St. Gerard Catholic High School."
Erlina must've stood in the open for about two minutes, staring at every single window of the massive catholic school from the outside. She looked around at her surroundings just to make certain that she wasn't being followed. If you were quiet enough during late evenings, you could hear as much as a pin drop but in this particular case, you could hear the nocturnal Infected weeping from miles out and from inside the very building. She knew that coming to a place like this, regardless of what she was told about it, was far from a good idea. As her eyes continued to wander, she spotted what appeared to be a Runner casually passing by one of the windows.
This was it—Erlina had been training a good portion of her life to do this. What was it all really for? She may have been the youngest, but she wasn't stupid. She knew for a fact that she was being trained in case she ever be left alone and it was only a matter of time for her to put that to the test. She had faced Infected before and being small was quite the advantage. As her eyes explored, something caught her eye over by what appeared to be one of the entrances. Opposed to its dark surroundings, it stuck out like a sore thumb, being small and made from a fragile material. She quickly walked over to it to give herself a closer look. It was a short folded piece of paper and it was stuck to the wall by what Erlina eventually made out to be a piece of dry gum. Reaching up, she pulled it off the doorway, slightly tearing the top edge of the paper. Pointing her flashlight onto it, it read:
"Nate. If you happen to find this before dark, James and I will be waiting for you inside the school. Like we said we would, I'm really looking forward to clearing this place out and make it our own. We're at the start of something promising here. Just in case a dumbass like you forgets your gas mask again, I brought a spare. It's hidden underneath one of the cars in the parking lot. You know places like this are usually swarming with spores. Anyway, James managed to pry open a door leading to the basement. See you later, brother. We should be gone before dusk.
-Everett."
Erlina folded the note and shoved it in the back pocket of her jeans. Even though it wasn't meant for her, she was somewhat insulted because she too fell under the category of a dumbass who'd forget her gas mask. She wasn't necessarily allowed to visit pore-infested spaces and her family often avoided them. So, as anyone else naturally would, she'd forget. Even though it was obviously past dusk, the presence of the letter made it quite apparent that this Nate-person might've never arrived after all. Erlina looked around, noticing just about three cars in the parking lot. Instinctively, she approached the nearest car and jumped to the ground. With the assistance of a flashlight, she couldn't see a thing. Directly across from her, on the opposite end of the parking lot, was a wine-colored van and that was her next target. Doing the same, she dropped to the ground and discovered the treasured item,
"Sorry, Nate..." she muttered to herself as she nearly disappeared underneath the car to grab the mask for herself.
From what Erlina already knew, there were separate entrances around each side of the catholic school. The front and the side opposite of Erlina's, both had large entrances similar to chapels. They were those typical church doors and were presumably locked off seeing that this entire building barely showed any sign of infiltration. On Erlina's end was nothing but the typical school doors that you saw at every building. Erlina firmly placed her hand on the lever-like handle, twisted, and pulled it with all her might, but her tugs were useless. Briefly, she turned her attention to the left of her and noticed what appeared to be a gate that fenced off a separate area along her side of the school building—essentially guarding what looked like a pathway of stairs that descended. As she paced towards it, she beamed her flashlight from the outside and scanned around. She noticed that the gate's padlock had been broken off and was laying on the ground by her feet. Hesitantly, she widened the opening of the gate and noticed a set of stone steps that led to an average-looking, chestnut door. A door leading to the basement, she recalled the note stating. So far, luck was on her side.
Erlina followed the path and realized that the door was left just off the latch. At the safe distance, she peering in from the outside and heard the screeches and moaning of Infected, initially confused for ambiance, become clearer. Envisioning maddened, humanoid silhouettes flare their arms made the hairs on her back rise. Already, her flight mode was activated and she stumbled backward. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all? She thought to herself. But it was more than just about her feelings at the moment. She knew if it were her that was shot, her family would be the first ones to volunteer to do this.
She spotted hundreds of microscopic particles with the help of her flashlight. Still having it in-hand, she fidgeted with the gas mask, taking everything from its appearance and fit into consideration. In addition to it having a shape suited for the human skull and snout, it was forest green with two pentagonal-shaped eye-pieces for the user's vision. Lastly, it had two filters near the mouth area to accommodate breathing. Tightening it to a point where she could cut off the circulation to her brain was more reassuring than anything. It might've looked cool to anyone foreign to it, but the reality was that it was heavy, obscured your vision, and felt very stifling.
Bravely, Erlina modestly opened the basement door where pitch darkness awaited her at every corner. As she made her way down a small set of more stairs, she hid near the very corner of what appeared to be a stage, completely concealing her from Runners in the distance. She was confused as to what purpose this room used to serve as, but that was the least of her worries. There appeared to be lunch tables, some unfolded and some turned on their sides.
Shining her lights along the perimeters—which is where she was intending to scour along—she noticed dead infected, producing spores from the fungi that blossomed from their corpses. Managing to quickly creep underneath a table, Erlina counted around three to four Clickers and Runners altogether.
She was taught a few things should she ever end up in this scenario. First, she had never personally encountered the final stage of an Infected, and she was told that if she ever did, run like you never have before. Secondly, the best way to turn away the attention of these things was to use something—anything to divert them. Quickly yet efficiently, Erlina continued to make her way underneath the tunnel-like table and stay hidden behind a table that was turned of. As she stopped to take a breather and wipe away most of the sweat around her neck, she heard something inching closer to her. Judging by the sound, it was a female Runner. She was moaning loudly in a way that could help drown out the noises of her shoes, but her tormented screams weren't something pleasing to listen to.
Although light did not affect them, Erlina still switched off her flashlight and backed away. Thankfully, before the Runner could make it into her field of vision, it turned back away. As if breathing wasn't already hard enough, the child held her breath anyhow and following up with an unsatisfying exhale once she realized she was in the clear. She turned back on her flashlight while moving but stepped on what appeared to be a fragment of wood. It was narrow, big enough to fit in her palm, and although it was light, it was of considerable weight. Momentarily standing, she tossed it in the furthest part of the room—away from her and away from the direction she aimed for. Due to the darkness, she couldn't spot a bypassing Clicker and stuck it in the head. It shrieked, causing many others to gravitate towards the sound that was made after it bounced off the Infected and hit the floor. Practically concealed by their ruckus, Erlina immediately began to slink away from her position and made her way to one of the five pillars split the room. Finally, she was near an exit and she took a final glance at her outwitted rivals before leaving the room. Without a moment to spare, she made it past the doorway, soon realizing that there was a door being kept open with a door stopper. Doing just that, she removed it and softly allowed the door to lock upon closure.
Cut off from any sign of danger, she turned and was yet again in another area with a high concentration of spores. This time around, there were two paths to take. There was a flight of stairs that led up to the base floor and according to the chipped and faded painted words along the walls, the narrow route closest to her led to a women's room. Erlina's overall plan was to get in, grab a med-kid, and get the hell out, but she was going to turn this entire place inside out if that's what it took. Doing what was best, she figured it couldn't hurt to search the restroom. She tip-toed to the end of the path, only to be greeted with an opened doorway. Peering in from an angle Erlina jumped into the open since she couldn't see much without a flashlight. Having her bow and arrow drawn, all she could make out was another Infected's corpse, hunched up underneath the bathroom sinks. Just so happening to look over at the towel dispenser, she noticed a compartment underneath it that was forcibly opened—a compartment that wouldn't be invisible to the naked eye had it not been pried open. Open it for herself, she briefly became stunned at the sight of a white container. Grabbing it, she dusted off the surface with her hands and roughly made out the word "first-aid". Before she could even be sure she opened the kit but was unfortunately met with nothing.
As anyone would be, she grew frustrated, nearly crying. Offended, she threw the kit against the floor, watching it brush against the tiles and hit the foot of the soulless Infected that accompanied her.
Just like the coast, the air was beginning to clear, but Erlina made the staunch decision to keep her mask on just to be safe. Coming into view, after she made it up the flight of stairs, was a set of glass doors that led to what appeared to be an untouched chapel with pews, a podium, and models of crucifixes and statues. Like most of the place, the chapel was sealed off. Erlina inched closer to the doors and ran her fingers over small scratches and hard-to-make-out letters. Both hands were mysteriously guided to the gold-colored handles of the doors and she attempted to pull...but not a single budge was made.
Suddenly, a Clicker ran to one of the doors and started banging at it. As far as Erlina could tell, the doors were glass, but not exactly. When touching it, they had a plastic-like property to it, which made Erlina wonder if maybe it was an explanation as to why the doors remained intact—even now. However, it was a waste of time to focus on these things and Erlina didn't want to stick around in case the Clicker proved her theory wrong. So, she continued to make her way up to the next floor. This is where things began to get complicated. The next flight of stairs had completely collapsed and there was no way she could make it to the next floor without falling directly back to the main floor. Proceeding to the first floor, the first thing Erlina was greeted with a pile of debris and wreckage blocking off most of the entrance and remaining rooms to the right of her. Looking up, she could gather that building was just about falling apart in many places because the hallway floors from the level above had collapsed too.
Refusing to linger on the ordeal any longer, she voyaged through almost every classroom that permitted access. She searched through countless closets, shelves, and desks only to obtain three bandaids, a thermometer, and some safety pins—essentially nothing that could help her cousin. She roamed up and down the hallway, multiple times, being able to relate to Runner in some sense. If she left now, it would all be for nothing and she didn't want that. She recollected her observations from outside and knew that the following floor was the last place to search. Still one floor below the last, she walked directly towards the end where the floor, from above, had crumbled. Being able to see a couple of doors above on the second floor, one special door stood out the most to her. Focuses her bright mahogany eyes, she made out some illegible words on the surface of what looked like texturized glass,
"Nurse's..." she read before pausing. The letter's "O" and "E" with a small gap in between, was followed. That's when the clever young child pieced it together, and her eyes shot open, "Nurses office," she silently cheered.
Amongst her explorations, she found a set of emergency staircases. As she cautiously made her way up the stairs, she eventually reached the entrance to the final floor. Pushing past the doorway, that's when she couldn't help but release a faint smile. The saying "so close, yet so far" felt literal in a sense because she could see the nurses' office just beyond the gap a couple of yards out. Immediately, she ventured off, stepping into unlocked classrooms and finding nothing of use. Just like the floor below, there were about four doors on each side of the corridor, and was only allowed to search two. She kept her eyes pinned on the nurses' office as she exited the final room. Her mistake, however, was becoming too comfortable with her surroundings.
Out of the blue, Erlina heard the sound of something shattering. She jumped around, facing the direction in which she came for some time. As hard as it was to relax her breathing due to her heart racing a mile a minute, she overheard what sounded like unfriendly snarls. She knew what it was and as soon as it clicked, she saw something inhuman emerging from one of the rooms she supposedly couldn't get past. She shook herself free from a momentary stun and preformed an about-face matching the speed of a figure skater. A majority of her braids collected over one shoulder as they freely swayed with the movement of her body and she instantaneously took off as the rabid Stalker beamed after her.
Her size was already a disadvantage and she wasn't the fast runner out there. She was always envious of other peers from previous zones who would force-feed her their dust, but there was no excuse this time since she was already given a lucky head start. She could feel herself winning the race, but it was her finish line that worried her the most—the collapsed flooring that was inevitably coming closer. Before the Stalker could come within a dangerous range, Erlina neared the very edge of the hallway and sprang off like she was taking lift-off, feeling a minor sting on her thin ankles. Just as she became to descend as she soared through the air, she outreached both arms, praying that some sort of miracle would happen. Intending to grab hold of whatever her hand came in contact with, she soon found herself dangling from rebars protruding from the margins of the floor. The note on her upper-body strength was something to remember at a time like this. She wouldn't die if she let go but it would be one hell of an injury. Directly behind her, the Stalker had taken a frenzied yet poor leap after her. Just as Erlina did, it's objective was to reach out and grab hold of her. Fortunately for Erlina, the Stalker plummeted to the level beneath and broke a leg on impact. With the Cordyceps proving to complicate concentration, the suffering Stalker was unsure whether to grieve or salivating for Erlina, dangling in front like a carrot.
If she weren't preoccupied with saving herself, Erlina would've reveled at the sight. However, one broken leg wasn't enough to subdue it entirely and it didn't mean she was in the clear. When it became obvious that fighting to pull herself up was useless, it was like the revelation played into the slipping of her grip. She just didn't require the strength to get herself up and over. As her grip slipped free from the rebar, she released a piercing shriek.
However, Erlina mysteriously halted in mid-air. Looking up, she saw a masculine figure grabbing hold of her arm. Still panicked at the thought that it could've been an Infected, she started jerking herself around wildly before the figure could communicate,
"It's okay! It's okay!" he repeatedly shouted to reassure her.
With the tears and gasmask obscuring her darkened vision, she couldn't get quite a good glimpse of the stranger. Using all of his strength, he pulled her up and over the edge. Given that there were rebars and broken brick, Erlina was given some minor scrapes on her hands, elbows, and knees on her way up. The adult fell back onto his rear-end after they broke contact, whereas Erlina crawled further away from the edge and fell into a sidesaddle.
Erlina placed her hand on her chest, overwhelmed with exhausted and devastated all in one. Managing to catch her breath, she analyzed the stranger who helped her for whatever reason. Just behind him, was another doorway that expanded into another classroom. Without much of an exchange, he returned to the room turned to look at her. Without any kind of encouragement or beckoning, the door was left open—presumably for Erlina to follow. The Nubian youngster didn't know how to react, and after today, she knew she shouldn't easily put her trust in anyone.
Looming directly to the left of her was the door she had her sights set since she arrived on the first level. Finally standing, Erlina watched as the stranger silently wandered around the separate room. Whether it was even fair enough to call an interaction, so far, he didn't seem interested in her business at all. So, without a second thought, Erlina walked a couple of feet over to the office door and attempted to turn the knob. Just as expected but highly unfavorable of, it was locked. She wasn't quite sure what this could've meant but she was beginning to suspect that her luck was being deceptive. She continuously jiggled with the doorknob until she was prompted to stop by a random voice,
"It's locked," the man said from the other room, sounding relatively young. Just then, Erlina turned to face the door again and craned her arm back to give a blow to the textured glass but she was stopped, being advised by the stranger that she could end up breaking her wrist. Cautiously staying far away from the ledge, Erlina made her way to the doorway of the opened classroom, slightly opening it more with a single push of her hand. The stranger was sitting atop what looked like an educator's desk, still drained than one normally would be from helping a girl of her size, "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding quite concerned aside from his show of apathy. He could've been labeled her guardian angel but he didn't look anywhere like how Erlina imagined one would. To answer his question, Erlina simply nodded. The man stood erect from the desk he leaned against and took a step towards her, "Are you bit?" he interrogated. Erlina's reaction was different this time. Instinctively, she reached over her shoulder to rest her hand on an arrow in her quiver. Although it was a regular procedure to check people for bites, the unknown man looked as if he realized his error in his introduction. Instead, he took resumed his former stance and decided to take her word for it, "Alright. I won't check but I need to know."
"No," Erlina answered. Even though she knew people were capable of getting bites and scratches without realizing it, she was confident in her answer despite not knowing for sure, "I'm not."
His presence was ominous and his age was certainly unknown. He looked a lot more mature than Erlina but it was hard to tell whether he could've been someone in his late teens or mid-20s. He had a headful of hair, a honey-umber skin tone with locks of short hair with southeast Asian features. He looked in really desperate need of a cleanup, having dark smudges along his forehead and prominent cheekbones. Without warning, he walked across the class to a navy colored bag in the corner,
"So, what's a little kid like you doing in here?" He asked, having his back completely turned to her. She hesitated, keeping a close eye on his hand movements in case he decided to do anything sudden. Simply, he moved aside revealing about two to three cans of fruit cocktail and a can opener. Although Erlina had her bow and arrow aimed directly at him by this point, he didn't quite seem to blame her. Instead, he played off his less than obvious fear of being shot, "Are you hungry?" he questioned, waiting for an answer.
Erlina placed her bow and arrow down and pointed it towards the floor. She felt bad for seeming so hostile for a man who helped her but you could never be too suspicious of people, especially when it came to the dynamic of older men and young girls like herself. She hesitated to talk,
"No..." she declined as politely as she could, "I just need to get into that office," she confessed, sounding impatient and still shaken up.
"You're still wearing your mask," he randomly brought up. He didn't exactly know what to do with her information on the office. Instead, he grabbed his backpack and threw it on one of the class desks. Erlina opened her mouth, but before she could answer, he cut her off, "You don't need it, you know. It's clear up here."
This level of the building was indeed clear, but Erlina wanted to keep it on just for safety measures,
"That belongs to my friend," he said, sounding far from a liar.
Erlina became speechless. She already knew it wasn't hers and she knew that people didn't take kindly to stealing. Instead, she didn't respond, she properly returned her bow over her shoulder and placed the arrow back into her quiver so she could safely remove the gas mask. Placing it onto the nearest table she backed away from it,
"I found it outside with your letter..." she confessed, "You can have it back. I just needed it to get inside," she paused, thinking long and hard, "I'll just look for another way out."
The stranger crossed his arms and let out a sigh like it had been held in for years. His voice started trembling,
"It was Everett's," Erlina stared at Nate, realizing that he was trying incredibly hard to withhold emotion. It was obvious that the mention of his friend Everett triggered something. Although she could feel the gloom way before now, it was something she couldn't quite pinpoint. When he realized that Erlina was watching him, he wiped away his tears with his forearm, "He won't be needing it anymore. I think he'd be okay with you having it. James too."
Realizing that he was speaking of both men in the past tense made Erlina realize an ugly truth about the situation.
"Did you find them?" Erlina inquired, gaining the comfortability to ask the man she no longer saw as a threat.
"No," he shook his head with an uncertain expression, "I haven't found them yet," he painfully admitted. He probably never imagined himself venting to a child as young as Erlina, but when he realized that she was giving him a chance to release, he continued, "James and Everett were my closest friends. We practically grew up together. I just...I hope I can find them."
Seeing that it was all she—or anyone—could do nowadays, Erlina apologized and gave her condolences for the unfortunate news. In turn, the helpful stranger nodded in understanding. Spawning an unintentional moment of silence, Erlina figured that it would be best, to be honest with the mourning individual as some kind of trade-off,
"My group was attacked," she commenced, somewhat lying to protect herself if anything went awry, "Someone really close to me is really hurt. I need medical supplies to help him."
"This...group of yours?" he looked unconvinced and a little puzzled, "They just regularly let nine-year-olds go out on hunts?"
"I'm eleven," she corrected. She grabbed the gas mask back off the table, "And I snuck out. I just want to get what I need so I can get back home..."
Nate didn't answer after a while. Realistically, he had been holed up in the school for nearly a week because he felt no need to carry on after losing people so close to him. However, seeing a little girl have invested so much time to save someone she loves made him realize that there was still more to life and that giving up would be far worse than what happened to his friends,
"So," he stated while retrieving his backpack. He laid out empty cans of canned fruit one by one, "You were trying to get into that nurse' office, right?"
"Yeah," Erlina confirmed, "It's worth a shot, but if it's not in there, I don't know what to do anymore."
"Anyone ever tell you you're mature for your age?" Nate scoffed, ultimately impressed, "I'm Nate," he officially introduced himself while putting on his backpack.
"I'm Erlina."
"Okay, Erlina," Nate reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stainless steel handgun with a brown grip resembling shined pine. Racking the gun by pulling back the slide, he popped out the magazine and counted three bullets before inserting it back inside and allowing the slide to revert in place, "Let's get you out of here."